In the 1970s, it started with contracting out communal dining.

In the kitchen of the cafeteria.

Wang Xiuli was surrounded by several good-looking young men, her face beaming with a smile.

The young people were all sweet-talking and kept pulling Wang Xiuli along.

"Aunt Wang, could you please save me a serving of shredded pork with green peppers tomorrow? I'll come early to queue! I haven't had a hot meal for three days in a row. I can't get a taste of Chef Chen's new dishes, and I'm so craving them! Please, please~"

The young man who spoke had a buzz cut and was quite handsome with fair skin.

Wang Xiuli had never received such treatment before; she couldn't stop smiling.

"Aunt Wang, could you save some for me too? I still have some White Rabbit milk candies I bought from the supply and marketing cooperative; you can take them home for your child!"

Another young man, with slightly dark skin and a tall stature, reached out and shoved a handful of milk candies into Wang Xiuli's hand without saying a word.

Wang Xiuli blushed; the middle-aged woman was still a little embarrassed.

God knows she never received this kind of treatment when she was dating that deadbeat of hers.

"Go away, who wants your candy!" Wang Xiuli scolded, but her hands readily stuffed the candy into her pocket, her eyes and brows full of smiles.

"Queue up! You can't do it without queuing! Who offers special treatment? Everyone in the factory wants to try Chef Chen's cooking, but... you young people get hungry quickly, so come earlier tomorrow."

As she said this, Wang Xiuli pointed to the back door of the kitchen, her meaning couldn't be clearer.

She would open the back door for whoever arrived first.

The young men opposite immediately beamed with joy and nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, yes! You can't give us special treatment! I usually get hungry around 10:30 in the morning. Tomorrow when I'm hungry, I'll come to the cafeteria!"

"Get out of here! Dinner doesn't start until 11:30, and you're already hungry at 10:30? That's ridiculous! Come back at 11:20!"

"I understand! Ouch—"

Several young people were beaming with joy, thinking they had secured their lunch for tomorrow, when suddenly they received a solid slap on the back of the head.

Turning around, I saw Liu Dayou standing behind the crowd, his face as black as a ghost, his hand landing squarely on the back of the neck of the fair-skinned young man.

The blow left a large red welt on the back of the young man's neck.

"Line Chief Liu! What did I do wrong this time?" the young man shouted, clutching his neck, clearly indignant.

Liu Dayou glared at him: "You think I didn't hear you? Make an exception for me? Advance the queue? I'm queuing properly! You bunch of kids trying to pull strings, are you?! Get out of here, all of you, back to work!"

The fair-skinned young man shrank back, not daring to utter a sound, and quickly turned and ran away.

Only Liu Dayou and Wang Xiuli remained, waiting until everyone else had left.

Liu Dayou suddenly put on a fawning smile, rubbed his hands together, and imitated the young people, speaking in a coquettish voice.

"Aunt Wang! About that back door thing... do you think... could I..."

His dark face, with its protruding yellow teeth, almost made Wang Xiuli vomit her dinner from the night before.

He immediately waved his hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly: "Didn't I say I wouldn't use connections? I have to follow Line Chief Liu's instructions!"

After casually tossing out those words, Wang Xiuli turned and left in annoyance.

However, she felt extremely comfortable.

Back when Wang Defa worked in the kitchen, he treated the kitchen helpers like beasts of burden. No one in the canteen had ever had that kind of status in the factory.

Ever since Chenwei arrived, the status of the kitchen helpers in the factory has risen dramatically.

There's nothing we can do; Chen Wei's cooking is delicious, and he only makes exactly the same amount every day.

If you want to get a table, you either need to pull strings or get in through back channels, or you need to arrive early and wait in line patiently.

Wang Xiuli never imagined she would receive such treatment in her lifetime.

Thinking this, she spotted Chen Wei, who had just returned from outside, rolling up his sleeves to prepare to wash the pot.

"Xiao Chen! Don't get involved, let me do it!" She immediately and hurriedly snatched the pot from Chen Wei's hands, her eyes overflowing with affection.

Chen Wei was taken aback by this sudden enthusiasm, but he couldn't refuse, so he had to step aside from the pool.

He moved closer to Wu Xiaochun with some doubt and asked in a low voice.

"Is there some happy occasion at Aunt Wang's house? Why is she so happy today?"

Wu Xiaochun pursed his lips, his words carrying a hidden meaning: "Isn't it all thanks to you! Aunt Wang has had a lucky encounter today; that old morning glory is blooming again~"

After saying this, Wu Xiaochun slung the rag over his shoulder, pursed his lips, and walked away.

Chen Wei was completely confused by these words and couldn't figure out what was going on even after thinking about it for a long time.

But Wang Xiuli absolutely refused to let Chen Wei touch the kitchen cleaning work.

With nothing else to do, he simply took a lot of cucumbers from the cafeteria shelf, washed them, and continued to practice his knife skills.

As I was browsing, I suddenly saw someone walk into the empty cafeteria.

With his left leg still in a cast and his right hand on a crutch, followed closely by Lin Jun, was a soldier.

The man was around fifty years old, with a tall, buzz-cut haircut and a long face, making his head look square and like a Transformer.

He was wearing a faded chef's uniform, without a hat, but he still exuded a dignified and proper air.

Following behind that person, Lin Jun was carrying two net bags. Inside the net bags were some daily necessities, a thermal lunchbox, and a thermos, all of which were neatly printed with the words "Jinshi First People's Hospital".

Chen Wei's eyes swept over the man, and he immediately understood that it was Wang Defa, the head chef of the cafeteria, who had returned.

Didn't they say he wouldn't be back until the day after tomorrow? How come he's here today?

Judging from the looks of it, she went straight to work after leaving the hospital?

That's incredibly dedicated!

Wang Defa stood at the entrance of the canteen, his gaze first sweeping over the pots and pans in the back kitchen. His brows furrowed seriously as he limped to a table outside the canteen.

He stretched out a finger and rubbed it hard on the table, his thumb grinding against his index finger, and his face immediately darkened.

"What's wrong with this table? The grease on it hasn't been wiped clean. How can the factory workers trust our canteen with this kind of hygiene? I've only been gone a few days, and this is how you do things?"

Wang Xiuli is usually in charge of keeping the table clean.

When Wang Xiuli saw that the first thing he did upon returning was to confront her, her previously cheerful expression immediately darkened.

She swung her arms and walked out, slamming the rag on her shoulder onto the table with a "thud".

"There are so many people eating in the cafeteria, and the people who ate at this time have just left. How am I supposed to have time to wipe the tables?!"